God spoke

“If only God would just let me know the right thing.”

I’ve often wished God would just talk out loud. I want to hear from him. As I noodle through the little puzzlers of the day and as I grapple with the big problems of life, I often wish he would just tell me what to do. I feel like there’s a right answer, or at least a best answer, and I want to do that thing.

This morning, reading in Hebrews 1, I got a pretty clear answer for all the times I’ve thought like that. Look at this, from verses 1-4: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”

God has let me know the right thing. I have the documented words of Jesus. I have the example of the life of Jesus. I have the record of God’s character and expectations in the Old Testament. And I have the counsel of men who walked and talked with Jesus, and a man who Jesus spoke to directly from heaven on the road to Damascus. I can’t claim I don’t know the right thing.

In the past, this writer says, God sent prophets to tell the people directly what God expected. But here’s the thing: even with that kind of direct communication, most of the people didn’t listen. Being a prophet was a hard job because mostly you were ignored or abused.

Am I guilty of doing the same thing with this new communication from God? Do I fail to listen to the words of Jesus, those red letters in so many of my Bibles? Do I ignore his example? Do I disbelieve Peter and John and James and Paul when they tell me what they know from first-hand experience?

Not on my good days. I read the Bible pretty much every day, and most of the time I mull over what I read. I’m thoughtful and deliberate about trying to understand. Most of the time.

But still, I too often say, “I wish God would just tell me what’s right.”